18-year-old Florida Teen Kaitlyn Hunt Arrested and Expelled...

originally posted by: rustyclutch
The law is the law. Nobody ever cares about these laws till they are the one getting prosecuted. Shoulda been protesting these laws when it was
straight people going to jail for it all the time. Now that it's "cool" to be gay I suppose we shouldn't apply the same laws to them. Are they
going to remove all the old people prosecuted under these same circumstances from sex offender registries? I'm not saying it's right, I'm just
saying why the uproar today because it happened to a lesbian? It's like they have a special status now and none of the ills of society that the
normal American faces are supposed to ever affect them. Lol.

I think it's stupid regardless of sexual orientation. I'm annoyed not just because the girl is a lesbian but because the whole case is stupid. When
you are in high school, as long as they both consent to the relationship, then no charges should be pressed against the other just because the parents
disapprove.

I agree. At the same time...as the law is written she is guilty as charged. I'm sure this same law has ruined countless lives. It just disappoints
me that the gay issue has to be brought into it because it's not like this is some archaic law they used that no one ever gets prosecuted under.
People go to jail for this all the time all over. Our society is warped. Instead of making people take personal responsibility for their actions
they try to legislate everything away. The more laws we make the more criminals we make as well. Raise your children properly and know where they
are and who they are with and situations like this are less frequent.

originally posted by: Restricted
There's a reason parents are in charge until someone is 18. Children don't make wise decisions.

That doesn't justify the parent ruining a child's life because they disapprove of the relationship they are in.

Yes but at the same time. If you are the parent of the 17 year old you bear some responsibility as well. If a child doesn't go to school they punish
the parents. If you know your kid is putting themselves in a situation that could ruin their lives.....you are supposed to do something about it.
The real question would be...did the 15 year olds parents ever bring it to the attention of the 17 year olds parents? If they did and the kid
knowingly kept breaking the law....they brought it on themselves.

originally posted by: Restricted
There's a reason parents are in charge until someone is 18. Children don't make wise decisions.

That doesn't justify the parent ruining a child's life because they disapprove of the relationship they are in.

Yes but at the same time. If you are the parent of the 17 year old you bear some responsibility as well. If a child doesn't go to school they
punish the parents. If you know your kid is putting themselves in a situation that could ruin their lives.....you are supposed to do something about
it. The real question would be...did the 15 year olds parents ever bring it to the attention of the 17 year olds parents? If they did and the kid
knowingly kept breaking the law....they brought it on themselves.

In a comment the Mother of the girl facing charges said that the parents of the younger girl never came forward expressing a problem with the
relationship. The parents were blind sided by the action of the other parents

That being said it's a messed up situation all the way around the board. I just want the law to be fixed because it's wrong not because it happened
to a lesbian. That's the only reason you are hearing about it. You don't hear about it when it happens to just a regular guy. It feeds into the
whole atmosphere these days like gay people are just persecuted en masse. Which only causes overreaction to the point that you cant criticize or
dislike a gay person for anything without being considered homophobic.

I utterly and entirely disagree. Not to pry but do you have any children? A 15 year old is a child, children have no ability to consent; why you ask,
because their brains are not fully developed. New studies say not till 25 are you done developing mentally.
Smart kids do
stupid things so they say. Good judgment and comprehension can not all be taught by parents, it develops. What age did you stop taking wanton
risks? How do your action effect others around you? I know I did not fully realize the ramifications of my actions until much later in my adult life,
some adults never get it.

Sure it does they are protecting their daughter, the 18 year old's parents should have done the same. She should have been told what she was engaging
in was illegal. Sure the younger girls parents could have handled it different and maybe they did try to get her to end the relationship we don't know
that part. I know that had this been my daughter either I would have told them to end it once or this will be the result. I don't know that I would
engage the parents either, my parents never met most of my high school girlfriends parents and I live in a small area....

I utterly and entirely disagree. Not to pry but do you have any children? A 15 year old is a child, children have no ability to consent; why you ask,
because their brains are not fully developed. New studies say not till 25 are you done developing mentally.
Smart kids do
stupid things so they say. Good judgment and comprehension can not all be taught by parents, it develops. What age did you stop taking wanton
risks? How do your action effect others around you? I know I did not fully realize the ramifications of my actions until much later in my adult life,
some adults never get it.

No I don't have any children but I had to raise my younger sister from age 5-16 (7yr age difference) because my Mom had an incurable illness.

Let me get this straight a 15yr old can't make a choice to be a consensual relationship but a 16yr old can? How does that make sense?
By your use of "brains aren't fully developed until 25" (which I did read about in a Readers Digest article) then no one should be able to be in a
relationship until 25, shouldn't be able to drive, shouldn't be able to drink, shouldn't be able to go into porn stores and/or vote until age 25.

I never took wanton risks because I knew I was vincible and that bad things could happen to me. I had family members doing bad things that showed me
that the consequences of drinking, partying, drugs, sex and basically all the silly things teenagers want to do. Therefore I also knew how my actions
would effect others around me.

Yes I know not everyone get's to have a great sense of clarity at a young age but that doesn't excuse parents abusing laws that are in place to
actually protect children who have been harmed.

Sure it does they are protecting their daughter, the 18 year old's parents should have done the same. She should have been told what she was
engaging in was illegal. Sure the younger girls parents could have handled it different and maybe they did try to get her to end the relationship we
don't know that part. I know that had this been my daughter either I would have told them to end it once or this will be the result. I don't know that
I would engage the parents either,

My parents never met most of my high school girlfriends parents and I live in a small area....

Did you parents disprove of any of
those relationships? If not then it is understandable for your parents not to meet your girlfriends parents.

However we are talking about a situation where the parents didn't approve of the relationship. I would go meet with the other parents if I had a child
in that situation. Sure kids may not listen but at least you have talked to the other parents and can say "if this doesn't stop, further legal action
will be taken" Also tell that to the kids involved too.

At the time of the relationship of the two girls involved in the OP, one was 17 & the other 15, which was legal (from what other members have said
about the law in Florida). It wasn't until the girl was 18 that there was an issue of legality & the parents of the 15yr old took legal action. I'm
not sure how much time passed between the girl turning 18 and the other parents taking legal action.

edit on 11-7-2014 by knoledgeispower because: code error but fixed now

Sorry to her about your mother and your situation being a child raising a child is no easy thing, I have seen it first hand. Your are also probably
fortunate in some ways that you had that responsibility to orient you in the right direction. Would you have allowed or wanted your 15 yr old sister
to have a relationship with an 18yr old? Consent is only in terms of a sexual act not to a relationship, nothing illigal occurs until an act is
preformed. No I don't think a 16 yr old should be able to consent but the law certainly does. I don't necessarily disagree with some of those things
being bumped up in age. Teen drivers account for a large portion of accidents and are 3 time more likely to die per mile driven that some 20. "Young
people ages 15-24 represent only 14% of the U.S. population. However, they account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries
among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females." just an
example....CDC

I don't think they abused the law. They may have told their daughter to end it and this was the result. Either way the state is responsible for
prosecution, here where I live the parent does not even have to file a complaint the state can act on its own, school personnel can even provoke an
investigation.

Oh ya I had I had several older girls that my parent referred to as derelicts. I don't disagree that it could have been handled different, and the
girls may have been talked to we don't know that, we do know they did talk to the parents that's it. No it was not legal a 15 yr old can not consent,
that is the law.

I utterly and entirely disagree. Not to pry but do you have any children? A 15 year old is a child, children have no ability to consent; why you ask,
because their brains are not fully developed. New studies say not till 25 are you done developing mentally.

By that very logic, since the eighteen year-old's brain is also not fully developed, she is also making choices with an still developing mind.
To quote that and then toss up the double standard of how she deserved what happened is flat out hypocrisy. They were also both within the age leeway
time frame from what I can see, so not only are you ignoring your own linked article's assertions of immature brains up until a specific age, you're
also ignoring the legal window of wiggle room allowed. Because you don't like a 2-3 year age gap? WTH kind of screwed up logic is this?

Sorry to her about your mother and your situation being a child raising a child is no easy thing, I have seen it first hand. Your are also probably
fortunate in some ways that you had that responsibility to orient you in the right direction. Would you have allowed or wanted your 15 yr old sister
to have a relationship with an 18yr old? Consent is only in terms of a sexual act not to a relationship, nothing illigal occurs until an act is
preformed. No I don't think a 16 yr old should be able to consent but the law certainly does. I don't necessarily disagree with some of those things
being bumped up in age. Teen drivers account for a large portion of accidents and are 3 time more likely to die per mile driven that some 20. "Young
people ages 15-24 represent only 14% of the U.S. population. However, they account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries
among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females." just an
example....CDC

I don't think they abused the law. They may have told their daughter to end it and this was the result. Either way the state is responsible for
prosecution, here where I live the parent does not even have to file a complaint the state can act on its own, school personnel can even provoke an
investigation.

Yes it was hard, especially because my younger sister also had a life threatening illness. My parents had split when I was 6 (they tried to make it
work again for a couple months but my Mom didn't want to stop drinking & my Dad couldn't stop gambling.) ((during the time they tried to make it
work, my younger sister was conceived))
My older sister (2yrs older) couldn't handle my Mom & younger sister both being sick so she bugged off to go live with an abusive boyfriend, leaving
me to raise my younger sister & deal with my Mom being sick. ((I believe I was about 13 when that all went down))

Even though I had perfect examples of how not to behave, my sisters were not the same. I feel like the odd one out because I didn't party in high
school, underage drink or do drugs & also wasn't having tons of sex. I'm still the most behaved & sadly, the most mature person in my family.

When my younger sister was 16, I wouldn't have wanted her to date an older guy but I learned at a young age(younger than 13) that it didn't matter
if I disapproved of what someone else was doing, they would continue to do it. My younger sister did date a guy when she was 12, he was 13 but dang if
I could have kicked his sorry butt I would have. He convinced her that cutting yourself was cool & took her virginity. There was nothing anyone could
do but let it play out, the more we said we disproved of the situation the more she would act out.

If when, god permits I can have kids, I have kids, I would exhaust all other options before taking legal action. I know how much a persons life can be
ruined by something they did when they were younger.

I was in a situation almost like that not that long ago. My younger sister (age 20 now) was dating a 54yr old (age of my Dad) guy & it was looking
very sketchy. ((like the guy could be involved in the sex trade)) Having lots of experience of not being able to convince someone of the dangers they
may be facing, I knew I had to do as much digging around as I could before I would go ahead & get the cops involved. Fortunately, the relationship
ended before that happened.

I still think it is an abuse of the law because it doesn't sound like anything bad was happening.
I also think that it sounds like it's just pissed off parents who disapprove of the situation & are taking vengeance. I do wonder though if it had to
do with the children being lesbians because the parents taking legal action blame the other girl for making their daughter gay.

Oh no that is not at all what I am saying. Although the 18 yr old is likely just as innocent in the matter unfortunately she is the older and that is
the law. No they were not the 15 yr old can not consent, how many times do I have to repeat it, the earliest age in Florida is 16. The gap only
applies after one turns 14 and can not be more than 3 yrs.

"Florida's age of consent is 18, though the law contains a provision allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to consent to having sex with someone age 16 to 23.
To qualify for removal under "Romeo and Juliet," the victim must have been at least 14 years old and the offender no more than four years older."

Romeo and Juliet laws

Often, teenage couples engage in sexual conduct as part of an intimate relationship. This may start to occur before either participant has reached the
age of consent, or after one has but the other has not. In most jurisdictions, the person who has reached the age of consent would be guilty of the
statutory rape provision. In some jurisdictions (such as California), if two minors have sex with each other, they are both guilty of engaging in
unlawful sex with the other person.[13][14] Most jurisdictions, as previously stated, consider the act itself to be prima facie evidence of guilt, as
any consent between partners, even if freely given, does not meet the standard of law, as it is given by a person the law has defined as being
incapable of giving consent. Thus the accused individual often has no defense.

An example is Texas Penal Code, Section 22.011(e). It provides an affirmative defense to a charge of sexual assault if all of the following apply:

the accused was not more than 3 years older than the perceived victim
the perceived victim was older than 14 years of age at the time of the offense
the accused was not at the time registered or required to register for life as a sex offender
the conduct did not constitute incest
neither the accused nor perceived victim would commit bigamy by marrying the other (in other words, neither was married to a third person)

Florida’s “Romeo and Juliet” Law
In Florida, prior to the passage of s. 943.04354, F.S., if a 15 year-old and an 18 year-old were engaged in a consensual sexual relationship, the 18
year-old was subject to registration as a sexual offender and could not petition the court for removal of the requirement to register for 20 years
after the completion of his or her sentence, or if adjudication was withheld, 10 years after being released from all sanctions.
6
Florida’s “Romeo and Juliet” law does not make it legal for an 18 year-old to have a sexual relationship with a 15 year-old; however, it does
provide a mechanism for the offender to petition or make a motion to the court to remove the requirement to register as a sexual offender if certain
criteria are met.

Wow. That sounds tough. I am glad you pulled through it and strong by the sounds of it. If nothing was happening there could be no charge, an act had
to have occurred. Unfortunately after the parents reported the issue it is in the hands of the state....If that is the case sadly being a bigot is not
illegal, but they will seriously damage their relationship with their child.

Why aren't these parents having their own child arrestsed? She committed the "crimes" also, didn't she? Or are they claiming she was forced? I'm
no lawyer, but from what I know, the complaint has to come from the kids mouth, not from the family. Or are they forcing her to say anything? My
computer sucks right now and I couldn't get the story to load and I didn't read if there was more to this.

Whatever the case, it's just another example of a system gone berzerk. Lawyers will make money, someone's life/lives will be ruined, it's another
happy day in America.

Back in the Jurassic days when I went to school most 15 year olds were sexually active, at least from what I saw. Todays kids are no different than
they have been since, oh, maybe all of history? I'd bet, if they could, these idiot parents would lock up their own daughter until she was a ripe old
spinster before they let her out.

If I were traveling to foreign nations located abroad, I might consider passing myself of as a Canadian(I'll wear a Rush shirt) or something else
other than from the good ole U.S. of A. People might hate on me as we have clearly proven that we are, by far and away, frikking insane.

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